Gilbert and Ludwig Go To Neuschwanstein
by lilien passe
Summary: Check the title, kiddies. Unabashed fluff.


-Author's Notes-

Just what the title says. Unabashed fluff. Part of me doesn't even want to claim it as my own. But the history of Neuschwanstein just begged to be put in a Germany x Prussia story. I mean, come on. The guy's name was Ludwig. His mom was Marie of Prussia. It's a fuckin' castle, people. And a damn gorgeous one at that. Definitely one of those places you need to see before you die.

Maybe I could make this into a series. Part Two: Gilbert and Ludwig visit Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Part Three: Gilbert spends the rest of the year in the Criminal Museum salivating over the thumb screws.

Warnings: Uh… Language? Some potential slash if you press real hard on your eyeballs before reading and just focus on those little sparkly lights.

Disclaimer: If Prussia were mine… … sorry. I just lost all capacity for intelligent thought.

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_Gilbert and Ludwig Go To Neuschwanstein_

Gilbert laughed, sprinting to the center of the room.

"Check out that echo, West! Goddamn sounds like there's three of me in here!"

Ludwig cringed, "Keep your voice down. This room is technically off limits I'll remind you."

Gilbert rolled his eyes and hopped up on the stage, grinning when his boots made a satisfying thunking noise on the carefully polished wood. "Who'd you say built this monstrosity again?"

"I'd hardly call it a monstrosity," Ludwig huffed, crossing his arms and staring up at the lavishly decorated ceiling. "But to answer your question, it was commissioned by my former boss, Ludwig-"

"You can't be your own boss, West," Gilbert interrupted, smirking. "They tend to frown on that, you know."

"Would you let me finish?!" Ludwig winced as his voice reverberated around the narrow room. He coughed discretely before continuing. "As I was saying, it was commissioned by Ludwig the Second in 1868."

"Wasn't he that gay dude they found drowned in some lake?" asked Gilbert, absently studying the ornate paintings that framed the stage, tapping one scuffed boot on the floor distractedly.

"Figures that's the only thing you remember about him," muttered Ludwig, following Gilbert as the older man strolled through the elaborate arched door leading out of the Singer's Hall.

"Well I heard he had something goin' on with some opera dude. Doesn't get much gayer than that," said Gilbert, whistling in appreciation as he stepped into a room that looked like it had been ripped out of the earth itself. "Still. Gotta admit the guy knew how to show off."

Ludwig ran a hand along the side of the cavernous wall, a small frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I don't believe it was about showing off at all. He simply… wished to escape."

"Escape from what? Bein' rich and havin' a shit ton of leisure time and unlimited power? Sounds like a fuckin' hell hole," drawled Gilbert, running his eyes up and down the sides of the room, trying to gauge how much force it would take to bust a hole in a wall designed to look like it was made out of bedrock.

Ludwig, recognizing the calculating look on the shorter man's face, quickly grabbed him by the shoulders, steering them both into a new room.

Once he was convinced the platinum-haired man's desire to test his strength had been distracted out of him, Ludwig released his shoulders and continued. "It's not as simple as all that. He was completely obsessed with beauty; with a fantasy world that could only be expressed through mediums that allowed a certain amount of creative freedom. He was particularity fascinated with the operas of Wagner. This whole castle in fact is based on…" Ludwig trailed off as he realized the older man was pointedly ignoring him, walking around the room with his index fingers shoved in his ears as far as was humanly possible.

Ludwig suppressed his irritation, and followed the other man around the small room as he moved from one wall to the other, the shorter man's ruby eyes barely focusing on one work of art before sliding on to the next. Gilbert halted suddenly in front of the lavishly carved master bed, unplugging his ears and throwing a mischievous grin up at the tall blonde. "Bitchin' bed. Got curtains and everythin'. What do you say we-"

"Absolutely not," came Ludwig's cold reply. "You are in the presence of history, Gilbert. Your history in part, I might add. Please try and leave your libido out of it."

Gilbert waved one gloved hand around dismissively, turning his back on the taller nation. "Impossible. My libido is my history, West," he said, strolling out of the master suite, heading for the exit.

"You've obviously never met Catherine the Great, then," Ludwig muttered darkly, reluctantly following Gilbert down the stairs and back out into the bright sunshine.

Gilbert stretched his arms over his head, cracking his neck from side to side. "Goddamn. Next time you insist on one of these little 'Saturday Outings', remind me to never even entertain the idea of goin' along with."

"I was going to suggest the same thing," Ludwig snapped. "I'm sure Roderich would have been much more appreciative of the-"

"Fuck that prick," said Gilbert, his ruby eyes narrowing, all traces of his formerly teasing mood gone in an instant.

"'That prick' and I have a lot more in common than you and I ever will," said Ludwig, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Alright then," Gilbert said, a wicked smile slowly spreading across his face. "You should go with him. It'll be… uh… fun. Fun for you."

"I plan on it," Ludwig said with what he felt was an air of finality. On the train home though, Gilbert's quiet, malicious chuckles made him feel more than a little uneasy. He did his best to dismiss the feeling, chalking it up to Gilbert's inherently disturbing nature.

****

Two weeks later he met Gilbert at the train station again. The pale man was leaning against a pillar, hands shoved in his pockets, absently chewing a piece of gum. His eyebrows shot up when he caught sight of the taller man's face and he froze in place for a moment before bursting out into a gut-wrenching laugh.

"Oh-God-your-face-"Gilbert barely managed to stutter out in between gasps for air, pointing his index finger into the other man's face in unabashed glee, eyes clenched shut with laughter.

Ludwig stood silently off to the side, waiting for the older man's outburst to subside. Gilbert gave one last weak chuckle, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes before suddenly growing serious, straightening to clap one sympathetic hand on the taller man's shoulder.

"So which lecture was it this time?" Gilber inquired in a soft, quietly patronizing voice. 'The Life and Times of Mozart'? 'The Hapsburg Legacy'? No, wait, lemme guess," his ruby eyes flashed with barely suppressed amusement, "'Joseph II: Despot or Glorious Reformer'."

"All. Three," Ludwig ground out, vestiges of a migraine threatening to make a comeback with reinforcements in tow. "Twice."

Gilbert shook his head in mock sympathy, "I'd love to say I told you so, but… Wait a sec. I love sayin' that." He grinned up at the blonde man, slugging him in the shoulder. "Told ya so."

Ludwig sighed again, "And I never thought I'd relish your company so badly."

"What can I say," Gilbert shrugged, grasping the blonde's hand and pulling him towards the train, which was beginning to bellow clouds of blue-white smoke. "I'm just that awesome."

Ludwig let out a quick bark of laughter, letting himself be dragged along by Gilbert. They boarded the train, Gilbert tugging on the blonde's hand to sit next to him. Ludwig obliged, gracefully plopping down in the plush velvet seat and discreetly entwining his fingers with the other man's.

Gilbert gave a small breathy chuckle, sidling over to press his shoulder against the taller man's side. "So," he turned expectantly to Ludwig, a genuine smile playing around his face. "Where we goin' this week?"

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End Notes:

Kind of a departure, right? Jesus H. Christ, Prussia has quite a mouth on him. Wonder where he gets it from…

Reviews are still appreciated, but considering the considerable lack of effort I put into this, criticisms will probably just be gracefully set aside.


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